The Oak Tree Dream

I had a dream on June 6, 2013 which I have felt impressed to share here. Here it is:

I was with some people in a place outside somewhere. It was just beginning to get dark out and we were heading towards a body of water. We were going to investigate something that we'd heard others talk about. We came to the edge of the water and a huge monster type thing rose up out of it. Everyone ran, but I stood there for a minute wondering if I should take authority over it in the Name of Jesus. I felt that I should stand and fight. The monster seemed small at first as I contemplated this, but then as it rose up higher out of the water I could see that I was no match for it. Yet I still considered staying and fighting in the Name of Jesus, but then felt the Lord say I should not stay and fight. I needed to take cover. 

We ran into a hollowed out tree. It was a big tree, with enough room for all of us. Besides myself, there was four or five other family members with me. We all got inside and I was standing by the door. It was an actual door that was over the opening in the tree. I shut the door. There was a light on inside too. The monster was making a lot of noise outside, looking for us, and it came close to the tree. I was thinking once again about praying out loud, taking authority over him, but then considered that the noise would attract him. I knew that he was going to give off a deception which would affect anyone who was outside overnight. It didn't matter who it was, if they were outside they were going to be deceived by this monster. I just said 'Jesus' very quietly.  

A couple of my family members began to get noisy because they were afraid, and I looked at each one, making a "shh" very quiet sound with my finger over my lips. I looked at each one to make sure each one understood they had to be quiet. The thought went through my mind that it looked like I was trying to take charge, but I couldn't be concerned with that right now. It was vital that we all were quiet. 

Finally, the beast got quiet and people slowly started talking but I told them to shh. One of them said, "She can hear something." And it wasn't so much that I could hear something but I knew we needed to wait a bit. I felt a bit distracted by the others with me in the tree and at one point I felt that if I were too worried about trying to keep them quiet, I would lose my perspective/perception for what was going on outside the tree. I couldn't physically see what was going on outside. I was relying on my perception by the Spirit of God. I needed that perception to help keep us safe, so I couldn't get too distracted by them. 

At a certain point in time, I sensed it was starting to get light outside, so I shut off the light inside the tree and started to open the door. I didn't want the light inside the tree to call attention to us as I opened the door, but when I shut the light off, one person started making a lot of noise, he was scared--claustrophobic. I knew it was uncomfortable for him, but I also knew I had to keep going and slowly open the door. I knew he would see what I was doing and that it would be O.K. I couldn't take the time to stop an explain it to him, I just had to show him. 

We went outside and the monster was gone. It was just before dawn. It had spread its deception throughout the night to whoever was in the street. We ran up the street, aware that we could be a target for something else--from one of the deceived.

We entered a building. It was kind of dreary building, and more like a partially outdoor hallway. It appeared to be a central station of some sort--people were coming and going in all directions. There were a lot of people around who were dressed the same. They were all saying or singing something that sounded like words of praise and worship to the Lord. But I knew by the Spirit that some of these were fake Christians. They did not have the Spirit of God in them. I told everyone very seriously not to just follow anyone but to make sure they had the Spirit of God in them, and they would only know that by the Spirit. You could not tell outwardly. Once again, I thought it sounded like I was trying to take charge but the message was so important that I had to make sure they knew. I knew that anyone of them could perceive this for themselves, but because it was so important, I didn't want to assume that they had. 

Thoughts regarding the dream:

God prepared a safe place for us. We needed to get away, out of the influence of this spirit. This spirit influences and deceives the whole world. We needed to get out of its path and not try to fight against it. Arrogance would have had us try and fight against it and we would have been squashed. As it was, I felt that at any time we could have been squashed by this thing while inside the tree. I had to have faith and trust in the Lord. I could have been fearful for not being able to see outside the tree, and it was tempting to open the door, but I had to rely on faith in Him instead. It was important to wait and listen. To be quiet and listen. To not be anxious, or fearful, or arrogant, or get into disputes. The tree I believe represents righteousness--our righteousness in Jesus. 

Also, there were two or three generations in the tree. We must teach the next generation both wisdom and courage. If you have wisdom without courage you'll know what to do, but buckle under the pressure and become paralyzed with fear. On the other hand, if you have courage without wisdom, you'll be willing to die for your faith, but may end up dying needlessly when you should have stayed alive and continued your work here! Wisdom comes from listening to the Spirit of God.

It was important not to call attention to ourselves while we were in the tree, for this would attract the monster. Fear will cause you to cry out and when you do, you are calling attention to yourself. The same is true with disagreements. Also, the light in the tree, or our own light, opinion or illumination on things, will also call attention to ourselves. We need the light of the sun (Son) to see clearly, and to walk in the humility which will keep us safe. We need to wait for the dawn--enlightening from the Sun.

Once outside the tree, waiting to hear the Lord was important then too. We could not rush into following a certain group or forming relationships. We couldn't use reason to determine why we thought one group was better than another and follow them. We could not tell by outward appearance who was truly a Christian and who was fake. Everyone looked alike and sounded alike. We couldn't use comparisons etc. but instead we were to follow and wait on the Spirit--the true Holy Spirit. 

The Healing of our Memories

"By faith we understand..." Hebrews 11:3

"So faith comes from hearing..." Romans 10:17

 If we don't understand the Word of God when we hear it, it won't take root in our lives. It becomes seed sown by the wayside as described in Matthew 13:19, so understanding is important. Understanding not only involves the ability of the physical ear to hear, but the brain's ability to interpret the words. So, understanding is a two-step process of physically hearing the sound, and then interpreting the words/language. Pretty simply--the words find their way to you, and you know the language so you understand. However, to properly understand the meaning of God's Words, we need to learn His language and definitions so we interpret them correctly. His thoughts are not like ours.

For example, you might define patience as an intense time of suffering through a difficult situation. You come up with that definition based on past experience and what you've been taught. Yet, another person may define patience as stepping out of the limitations of time and into God's eternal realm where the things that are not yet seen are accessed. Two very different viewpoints.

Paul told the Corinthians if a bugle sounds and the tune is unfamiliar to the soldiers, the hearers won't know to prepare themselves for battle. We too, need to learn God's language so we may properly understand the meaning of what He's saying, and live accordingly. Learning the language of God involves reprogramming our brain to think like Him.

This reprogramming or renewing of our mind means that not only do understand His language, but we also accept His thoughts as truth, and judge our prior thoughts and experiences according to His truth. Normally, your brain will judge what it hears according to what it (you) already accept as the truth. It will judge according to the "pre-existing conditions" that influence your thoughts. If what you hear conflicts with what you consider to be true, you won't accept the "new" truth UNLESS you are humble enough to admit you may be wrong about something, and seek the Lord for understanding, being willing to accept His thoughts as truth.

From the time you were in the womb, you could hear the sounds around you. Words were spoken which, as you grew and experienced life, defined your understanding of those words. Often, we come to false conclusions because of erroneous teaching, misconceptions, and misunderstanding of events. With these kinds of deceptions lodged in a person's mind, they will reject what is contrary, even if it's the truth. It takes a heart willing to surrender to the truth in order to live free from deception.

To live in the ways of God, we all need a renewal of our minds after we are born again. Daily meditation of the Word will reprogram our brain. Even after that, there may be times we discover strongholds/deceptions that need to be pulled down out of our thinking. But for that to happen, we must be willing to surrender to God's truth. Praying in the Holy Spirit also helps to keep us from rejecting God's words and overcome misconceptions.

But there's more! Not only do we flush out the old, erroneous thought patterns, we also learn how to partner our thoughts and memories with the Holy Spirit to access the eternal realms of heaven where fresh new memories replace the old, deceptive strongholds. How do we do that? Not only with our heart, but with our memories.

When you dream, you create memories. The same thing happens when you activate your imagination--you create memories. These memories are just as powerful as ones created from experience. All memories are powerful. They are eternal. They are the substance of the heart. Like faith, they are the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit brings things to our remembrance, and shows us things to come--memories of the past and the future. These memories are outside of the defines of time. They are in the eternal realm. The thing is, we can intentionally access this eternal realm. We use our thoughts and memories/imagination to do so. We're told to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Rather than waiting for God to do something for us or to us, we can take the initiative.

Take a minute to close your eyes and imagine a room of your home (that you are not sitting in). Envision the walls, doors, windows, furniture, floor and get as detailed as you want. Now do the same thing with a Scripture. For example, Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem. In Revelation 22 he describes the river coming from the throne of God. Read these Scriptures and envision what it looks like. In the same way, you can close your eyes and behold the Lord. As you do, you are changed into His image as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Learning to do this will cause you to live an overcoming life. Don't think that the battles you face are not important. Every time you overcome a personal battle in your life, it affects the spiritual climate around you--you are weakening strongholds of the enemy. This affects your life, but also what is around you and what you are praying for--your family, workplace, community and nations. We need you to learn to access the heavenly realm for the kingdom of God! Remember that we...

"...look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Other Scriptures: Isaiah 55:8, 2 Corinthians 4:1-4, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-13, John 14:26, John 16:13, Hebrews 11:1, Joshua 1:8, Jude 20, Ecclesiastes 3:11

Time to Shine!

In the Bible, we read that Daniel was shown in the end time, there would be a period of great distress, but everyone found "written in the book" will be rescued. The angel who told him this then said:

"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." Daniel 12:3

Jesus also said that in the end time, after the wicked (tares) are removed:

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father..." Matthew 13:43

Those who have insight, and the righteous, will both shine in the end. The righteous are meant to have insight, for the righteous hold to the truth. Concerning the Day of the Lord, Paul told the Thessalonians: 

"But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;" 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5

As children of God, we are children of light who are meant to shine. When light shines, there is an effect upon darkness. It disappears. As long as we stay in the light, we will overcome. When the clash between light and darkness occurs, we want to stay in the light. We don't want to give in to a dark spirit--hate, fear, revenge etc. We may feel the emotion, but we don't react in sin. Instead, we continue to shine with truth and love. 

There will be temptations to respond to accusations made against us, or to get sidetracked with the distractions thrown our way, or to take things personally and fight back personally. But, instead of giving in to those temptations, we continue to shine. We shine with the Light of God which has substance and power.

Recently, on Facebook, I got into a discussion where I was accused of being full of hate, narrow minded, knowing nothing, insane, racist, a fool, ignorant etc. I could have responded with personal attacks in return, but I would not shine with the light if I did. The people making these accusations feel that their opinion is truth, where in reality, only God is truth. The truth is what I had to shine with if I really want what is best for them.

We're not in a battle of opinions, it's a battle of light vs. dark; truth vs. deception. We shine with the light and do not allow the darkness of other people's hearts to invade or influence us. Similar to a four year old throwing a temper tantrum and saying all sorts of mean things, we don't get on the floor with them and throw a tantrum back. We stand up and speak the truth. Truth is the only remedy for deception.

"...they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

Those who do not love and believe the truth will be sent a deluding influence so they will believe what is false and be judged. The only remedy for this deception is for them to repent of their wickedness, and to love and believe the truth. This is what we must shine with--the truth. We must love and believe the truth ourselves, and then shine with it to others so perhaps they might receive it.

This deception Paul spoke of to the Thessalonians is sent from God Himself. There is also a blinding that comes from the enemy which he puts upon the minds of the unbelieving so they won't see the light of the gospel of Christ.

"...the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Corinthians 4:4

Whether it's the enemy blinding their minds, or a delusion that comes because of their rejection of the truth, the answer is for us to remain in the light and shine. We love and embrace the truth ourselves, more than we want to prove we are right. More than we want to prove they are wrong. More than we want to take revenge. We shine in a way that glorifies our Father in heaven. 

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

Stay in the light. Live in the light. Walk in the light. It's time to shine!